The village owes its name to the important sanctuary dedicated to Zeus (Dias, "of Zeus"), leader of the gods who dwelt on Mount Olympus; as recorded by Hesiod's Catalogue of Women, Thyia, daughter of Deucalion, bore Zeus two sons, Magnes and Makednos, eponym of Macedonians, who dwelt here in Pieria at the foot of Mount Olympus.[2] The ruins of the ancient city lie within the modern city's boundaries. The first mention of Dion in history comes from Thucydides, who reports that it was the first city reached by the Spartan general Brasidas after crossing from Thessaly into Macedon on his way through the realm of his ally Perdiccas II during his expedition against the Athenian colonies of Thrace in 424 BC. According to Diodorus Siculus, it was Archelaus I who, at the end of the 5th century BC, gave the city and its sanctuary their subsequent importance by instituting a nine-day festival that included athletic and dramatic competitions in honor of Zeus and the Muses.

Pydna - Makrygialos

Pydna was already a part of the Macedonian kingdom under Alexander I (Thucydides I.131.1). It was unsuccessfully besieged by the Athenians in 432 BC and again, after seceding from the Macedonian kingdom, in 410 BC by Archelaus I who successfully captured the city and transferred its population further inland, possibly at the site of modern Kitros; however, the old site was re-peopled in the early 4th century. The Athenians, under Timotheus, seized Pydna in 364-363 BC, only to have it retaken in 357 BC by Philip II of Macedon. Pydna would remain part of the kingdom of Macedonia until its Roman conquest. In 317 BC, Alexander III's mother, [[Olympias] took refuge there to escape from Cassander's wrath, incurred by Olympias' scheming against Phillip III and his wife. Cassander besieged the city and managed to capture it during the spring of 316 BC. The Battle of Pydna (June 22, 168 BC), in which the Roman general Aemilius Paulus defeated King Perseus, ended the reign of the Antigonid dynasty over Macedon.

Platamonas

The Platamon Castle (Greek: το κάστρο του Πλαταμώνα) is a castle of the middle Byzantine period (10th century AD) and is located southeast of Mount Olympus, in a strategic position which controls the exit of the Tempe valley, through which passes the main road connecting Macedonia with Thessaly and southern Greece.[1] The tower, which overlooks the highway, is an imposing medieval fortress. The Turks seized the castle around in 1386, but soon came back to the occupation by the forces and more than 100 Turks were burned alive inside the castle. Important discoveries are the board of Hellenistic wall, that confirm the suggestion that on this position was the ancient Greek city Heraklion and the gate in the wall of the donjon.